ZIP 56572 vs ZIP 56534

This side-by-side compares ZIP 56572 (Pelican Rapids, MN) and ZIP 56534 (Erhard, MN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 56572 has a population of 5,454 at 13 people per square mile, while ZIP 56534 has 1,164 at 7 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 56572 reports a median household income of $79,475 against $70,694 in ZIP 56534, with per-capita income of $41,553 vs $38,331. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 29.5% in 56572 and 19.6% in 56534. Poverty rate reads 9.1% vs 12.6%, and unemployment 4.9% vs 2.5% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $298,800 in 56572 versus $238,300 in 56534, with median rent of $617 and $856 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 82.7% vs 92.2%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.